So this is the very first of my book scores, in which I write and record a piece of music inspired by the last book I read. Each song is meant to represent a feeling or mood or theme of the book it was written for. You can choose to listen to the songs as they are, or as you read the book.

This is a track written for the book Mister Blue by Jacques Poulin, translated from the French by Sheila Fischman, and published by Archipelago Press.

When I wrote this song I was thinking of the scenes that take place in the cave on the beach, and how the narrator can sense that someone had been there. The latter half of the song expounds on this theme of suspense, and I was thinking about the scene (no spoilers, I promise) of emotional climax when he is in a raft in the sea, surrounded by fog.

Listen to the song below, or better yet, download it for free and share it.

Tomorrow I plan to launch a new feature of Wing Chair Books. I am calling it Book Scores.

What are book scores?

They are just like film scores, except for books. Soundtracks.

I plan to write an original song for every book I read throughout 2012. I will post a new song every week or so. I have the first one finished and I’ll be posting it here tomorrow. With each song I hope to encapsulate a specific feeling, theme, or tone of the book it was written after.

I have been waiting for this book for a while, and now Matt Bell’s forthcoming Cataclysm Baby is available for preorder from MudLuscious Press. Order it now and get it for only $10, PLUS get a free ebook version as well.

It is also available from Amazon, if that is more your style, but I don’t know if you will get the free ebook if you order it from Amazon.

Cataclysm Baby boasts blurbs from:

Karen Russel

Lucy Corin

Lance Olsen

Chris Bachelder

I am very excited for this one. As soon as it comes out I will be reviewing it here, so stay tuned.

Lazy Fascist Press is a relatively young publisher, but it has quickly grabbed the alt-lit scene by the throat, and it shows no sign of letting go. They already have an impressively strong catalog, and it just keeps getting stronger. In fact, they just released their first offerings of 2012 – not one book, not two, but three books all at once, and they are a trio of face-melters. Here is a look at these three new books from Lazy Fascist Press.

Blake Butler put out two books in 2011, both from Harper Perennial, and now he is back at the small press party, serving spiked punch with fellow wordsmasher Sean Kilpatrick. What they are saying about this one is that it is – well, I don’t know what they are saying [really, look, no info: (huh?) (nevermind, it’s there now)], but I do know that if it is anything like what I would expect from these two, well then that is enough for me to want to read it. And that should be enough for you, too.

Is it weird that I consider Stephen Graham Jones one of my favorite living writers, even though I have only read one of his books? Seriously, it was that good. There is just something so compelling and exciting about his style. I have vowed to read every single one of his books, and at the rate he is publishing, he’s not giving me much time to catch up. Seriously, the man works hard. Well, here is another to add to the list. This review calls Zombie Bake-Off a combination of “Desperate Housewives, WWE, the Food Network, and George A. Romero.” Sounds delicious.

Okay, so Nick Antosca is the only author on this list who’s work I have not previously read, but not for lack of interest. Now, with the release of The Obese, that Antosca-absence is going to have to change, and soon. Touted as “a bloody satire about body image and America’s obesity epidemic”. They are calling it “Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds – with obese people.” How could I not want to read it?

So those are the three brand new books that just came out from Lazy Fascist Press. Their pages are still warm from the printers. I haven’t had a chance to pick up copies of my own yet, but once I do get my hands on these monsters, I’ll be writing about them. If you’ve read them yet, share your thoughts in a comment and let me know which one to start with.

That right there is a picture of my brand new Los Angeles Public Library card. I live a block from the closest branch [Pio Pico in Koreatown], and though it is a small branch I found a few books to check out. So far, it is the only branch I have been to, but I really look forward to visit some of the others. According to the website, there are currently 73 branches.

Even though I am excited to have these books, I already have a shelf full of books that I desperately want to read. I don’t think I am going to be reading these ones right away, so I think I may actually be returning them tomorrow. I feel so guilty having these three books just sitting in my apartment when someone else could be enjoying them. So I’ll be returning them, though it is nice to know that they will be there for me whenever I am ready to read them.

What books have you gotten recently from the library? Which ones should I get next time?

This is a list of every book I read in 2011. I read fewer this year than I have in the past few years. No rereads. Stay tuned for lists of my favorite novels, story collections, and novellas. Continue reading “Every Book I Read in 2011”

It has been a while since my last video. I’m going to try to get back to a relatively regular schedule again. Here is my video review of Eugene Marten’s novel In The Blind, published in 2003 by Turtle Point Press.